Senate passes Medical Amnesty Reform Resolution

The senate unanimously passed the Medical Amnesty Reform Resolution in its meeting Tuesday after receiving positive reviews from senate committees and senators.

“This bill … strengthen[s] the protections for the students while also keeping the administration informed on student behavior,” Sen. Chase Jordan ’15 said. “I think this bill strikes a perfect balance between administration’s oversight and intelligence with students’ rights.”

“Students should never hesitate to seek emergency medical care for themselves and their friends,” Heeter said in a press release. “Unfortunately, the current Medical Amnesty Policy invites this dangerous hesitation. Students across the campus community have learned the troubling reality that any history medical amnesty can be held against students during subsequent conduct and honor proceedings. This reality puts student safety at risk and deprives students of the amnesty they thought they were granted.”

Secretary of Finance Thomas Obermeier ’15 provided the senate with an update about the Student Assembly’s funds. The Reserves Fund, which held $169,879.19 at the beginning of the 322nd session, currently holds $15,372.19. The Activities and Events Fund currently holds $5,205 of its original $30,000.

Sen. Danny O’Dea ’18 introduced the Money Switcharoo Act, which would reallocate $2,800 from the Reserves Fund to the Conference Fund, and motioned that the bill be moved to old business. The motion passed by unanimous consent, and senators subsequently passed the bill unanimously.

During public comment, Secretary of Transportation Gabriel Morey ’16 shared his concerns about the decline in student participation in the Student Assembly airport shuttle program.

“There are two routes that we could go,” Morey said. “We could either try to invest more in advertising and try to get more students to ride, as long as we are allocating $20,000 a year to it, or we can just say that this is what students want … and save ourselves some money by reallocating some of the $20,000.”

Morey said he would update the senate once he receives information on the number of students who used the program for spring break travels.

The Equal Representation Committee Act, discussed at Tuesday’s meeting, calls for the formation of a committee including both members from the Graduate Council and the Senate to decide on how to better represent the Graduate Council in the SA.

The chairman of the senate and the chairman of the Graduate Council will determine the members and size of the committee. The committee must hold its first meeting by March 29 and be prepared to present its recommendations to the Senate by March 31.

The Equal Representation Committee Act was passed unanimously.

Sen. Nadia Ilunga ’15 introduced the I AM WM Week bill. The bill sponsors the I AM WM event, which will be held from April 13 to April 18. It will feature a speaker from U.Va. discussing the Martese Johnson incident, a culture night and Table Talks.

Chairman of the Senate Dan Ackerman ’16 assigned this bill to the student life, outreach, finance, executive and public affairs committees.

Deputy Director of Virginia 21 James Morton ’12 spoke to the senate about Virginia 21 and its efforts to increase student involvement in Virginia government. Virginia 21, founded by College of William and Mary students, has a chapter at every public four-year university in Virginia and informs students about actions of the state legislature that could affect them.

Media Council Chairwoman Mia Wolfe ’15 presented the senate with an update from the Media Council. The Media Council matched the SA’s funding of $6,500 for WCWM Fest. It also plans to create a new conference fund policy for groups represented by the Media Council and launch a podcast called “In Media Res” that will be available on iTunes.